Presidents were this year's hot item on the big and small screens, but pop culture has always been obsessed with dressing up actors to look like the men who fill our text books. Inspired by 2012's trend, Hollywood.com has combed through cinematic history to whip up this handy infographic, chronicling decades of Presidential appearances in pop culture. In the end, one thing is clear: Futurama did a lot in the name of presidential representation.
Check below the image for the key, revealing the actor assigned to each president.
Click to Enlarge
David Morse as George Washington in John Adams
William Daniels as John Adams in 1776
Nick Nolte as Thomas Jefferson in Jefferson in Paris
Burgess Meredith as James Madison in Magnificent Doll
Morgan Wallace as James Monroe in Alexander Hamilton
Anthony Hopkins as John Quincy Adams in Amistad
Charlton Heston as Andrew Jackson in The President's Lady
Nigel Hawthorne as Martin Van Buren in Amistad
David Clennon as William Henry Harrison in Tecumseh (1994)
John Tyler in Futurama
James K. Polk in Futurama
James Gammon as Zachary Taylor in One Man's Hero
Millard Fillmore has never been portrayed
Franklin Pierce in Futurama
James Buchanan has never been portrayed
Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln
Dennis Clark as Andrew Johnson in The Conspirator
Kevin Kline as Ulysses S. Grant in Wild Wild West
John DiMaggio as Rutherford B. Hayes in Futurama
Francis Sayles as James A. Garfield in The Night Riders
Maurice LaMarche as Chester A. Arthur in Futurama
Pat McCormick as Grover Cleveland in Futurama
Roy Gordon as Benjamin Harrison in Futurama
Pat McCormick as Grover Cleveland in Futurama
Brian Keith as William McKinley in Rough Riders
Robin Williams as Theodore Roosevelt in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Walter Massey as William Howard Taft in The Greatest Game Ever Played
Bob Gunton as Woodrow Wilson in Iron Jawed Angels
Warren G. Harding in Futurama
Calvin Coolidge in Futurama
Herbert Hoover in Futurama
Bill Murray as Franklin D. Roosevelt in Hyde Park on the Hudson
Gary Sinise as Harry S. Truman in Truman
Tom Selleck as Dwight D. Eisenhower in Ike: Countdown to D-Day
Bruce Greenwood as John F. Kennedy Thirteen Days
Randy Quaid as Lyndon B. Johnson in LBJ: The Early Years
Dan Hedaya as Richard Nixon in Dick
Dick Crockett as Gerald Ford in Pink Panther Strikes Again
Dan Aykroyd as Jimmy Carter in Saturday Night Live
James Brolin as Ronald Reagan in The Reagans
James Cromwell as George H. W. Bush in W.
Dennis Quaid as Bill Clinton in The Special Relationship
Timothy Bottoms as George W. Bush in That's My Bush!
Jordan Peele as Barack Obama in Key and Peele
[Photo Credit: Hollywood.com]
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2012 was a heated year for Presidential politics, with Barack Obama and Mitt Romney vying for the position of Commander-in-Chief and the battle of ideologies dominating every facet of pop culture. Movies and television also did their fair share of respectful homage-ing to the Head of State, with Daniel Day-Lewis' stirring portrayal of Abraham Lincoln in Spielberg's Lincoln (and the vampire-hunting alternative), Jordan Peele finding room to mock our sitting Prez in Key and Peele, and Bill Murray finding the swinger side of America's only four-termer, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in this weekend's Hyde Park on the Hudson. History teachers across the country have never been prouder of what they do than in the last 365 days.
Presidents were this year's hot item on the big and small screens, but pop culture has always been obsessed with dressing up actors to look like the men who fill our text books. Inspired by 2012's trend, Hollywood.com has combed through cinematic history to whip up this handy infographic, chronicling decades of Presidential appearances in pop culture. In the end, one thing is clear: Futurama did a lot in the name of presidential representation.
Check below the image for the key, revealing the actor assigned to each president.
Click to EnlargeDavid Morse as George Washington in John AdamsWilliam Daniels as John Adams in 1776Nick Nolte as Thomas Jefferson in Jefferson in ParisBurgess Meredith as James Madison in Magnificent DollMorgan Wallace as James Monroe in Alexander HamiltonAnthony Hopkins as John Quincy Adams in AmistadCharlton Heston as Andrew Jackson in The President's LadyNigel Hawthorne as Martin Van Buren in AmistadDavid Clennon as William Henry Harrison in Tecumseh (1994)John Tyler in FuturamaJames K. Polk in FuturamaJames Gammon as Zachary Taylor in One Man's HeroMillard Fillmore has never been portrayedFranklin Pierce in FuturamaJames Buchanan has never been portrayedDaniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln in LincolnDennis Clark as Andrew Johnson in The ConspiratorKevin Kline as Ulysses S. Grant in Wild Wild WestJohn DiMaggio as Rutherford B. Hayes in FuturamaFrancis Sayles as James A. Garfield in The Night RidersMaurice LaMarche as Chester A. Arthur in Futurama Pat McCormick as Grover Cleveland in FuturamaRoy Gordon as Benjamin Harrison in FuturamaPat McCormick as Grover Cleveland in FuturamaBrian Keith as William McKinley in Rough RidersRobin Williams as Theodore Roosevelt in Night at the Museum: Battle of the SmithsonianWalter Massey as William Howard Taft in The Greatest Game Ever PlayedBob Gunton as Woodrow Wilson in Iron Jawed AngelsWarren G. Harding in FuturamaCalvin Coolidge in FuturamaHerbert Hoover in FuturamaBill Murray as Franklin D. Roosevelt in Hyde Park on the HudsonGary Sinise as Harry S. Truman in TrumanTom Selleck as Dwight D. Eisenhower in Ike: Countdown to D-DayBruce Greenwood as John F. Kennedy Thirteen DaysRandy Quaid as Lyndon B. Johnson in LBJ: The Early YearsDan Hedaya as Richard Nixon in DickDick Crockett as Gerald Ford in Pink Panther Strikes AgainDan Aykroyd as Jimmy Carter in Saturday Night LiveJames Brolin as Ronald Reagan in The ReagansJames Cromwell as George H. W. Bush in W.Dennis Quaid as Bill Clinton in The Special RelationshipTimothy Bottoms as George W. Bush in That's My Bush!Jordan Peele as Barack Obama in Key and Peele
Follow Matt Patches on Twitter @misterpatches
[Photo Illustration by Hollywood.com; Photo Credits: Comedy Central (12); HBO (4); Columbia Pictures (2); Warner Bros (2); DreamWorks (2); 20th Century Fox (3); NBC(2); Touchstone Pictures; Universal Pictures; Turner Pictures; Paramount Pictures; Orion Pictures; Roadside Attractions; Republic Pictures; TNT; Buena Vista Pictures; Focus Features; A&amp;E; New Line; United Artists; Showtime; Lionsgate; iStockphoto]
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For the first time this season on So You Think You Can Dance, we got a chance to check in with faces we recognized rather than strangers. Yes, ladies and gents: It was time for the most dramatic Vegas Week ever. Or, you know, this year.
It was time to truly step up as a star. Four days of non-stop drama, non-stop Broadway and jazz and hip-hop and ballroom and groups, and at the end of it all, we would finally—finally!— have our Top 20 finalists. And, in the process, we got to be reunited with four guest judges from this season, including Debbie Allen, Tyce Diorio, Adam Shankman and Lil C. Sadly, Jesse Tyler Ferguson was nowhere to be found. (Instead, gearing up for a probably Emmy nomination?)
The Exorcist was first up in Vegas. AH! I was so excited I couldn't breathe. I had been waiting for weeks to see this man again. His solo was even better the second time around, maybe Adam Shankman and Tyce Diorio’s tears helped boosted the drama of the situation. What a way to start the night! By the way, Hampton Williams is his real name. Fun fact! I never knew that.
Next up was Janelle Isis, the hip-hoppy belly dancer. Despite the fact that I was worried her giant golden skirt was going to eat her (so did she, apparently, because she discarded it mid-routine), I enjoyed her just as much this time around as I did back during the preliminaries. This girl has Top 20 written all over her. (A sight dirty old Uncle Nigel would likely enjoy seeing.)
After a very brief montage, we were informed that 1/4 of the field was cut during solos, but we didn't see any faces except for our Selena Gomez-loving martial arts hip hopper. Darn. I liked him, too. We were quickly shuffled along to hip-hop (Nigel is on a schedule here, people), where Comfort and Twitch promised to leave our contestants on the verge of cardiac arrest by the time they were ready to perform.
Then, the worst thing in the world happened: The Exorcist quit midway through the choreography. I. Was. Devastated. This season is now empty for me.
Alas, the show must go on, and it did. Many more of our specialists excused themselves as the choreography got too tough and too fast to handle. We even said goodbye to Andre, one of the guys from super awesome Alabama hip-hop crew Dragonhouse. Unlike The Exorcist, he excused himself without telling the judges. #classy
In the first group to perform for the judges, Andre’s crew-mate Boris was cut for falling short in what should've been his specialty. Oh well. At least he tried, unlike his buddy. Another casualty was the praying mantis guy from Salt Lake City. Can’t say I was upset about that one, though like-minded Sonya Tayeh likely was.
At the end of the hip-hop round, 97 contestants remained, including Cyrus, the one (and best) member of Dragonhouse still standing. After much deliberation, the judges decided to let him continue. Hooray!
NEXT: Tyce is disgusted. You won’t like Tyce when he’s disgusted. Or ever.Day 2 meant Broadway time, and the contestants were subjected to Tyce, who fed them a story about being in a club at 2 a.m. and drinking bad water and suddenly being infected with lust. And, cue music!
Midway through the round, we were reintroduced to Alexa Anderson, a Season 8 finalist who was the very last person cut in Vegas last year. The judges’ complaint: She was too stoic. Tyce looked disgusted as he watched every group during this round, but it reached a new level with Alexa. As the judges deliberated on her group’s performance, Adam paused to rip her an (unprovoked) new one in front of everyone for being "dead". On the inside? On the outside? He said he was sick of saving her and that she needed to start dancing like she wants this. That wasn’t over-the-top at all.
Nevertheless, the dramatics were all for show and she wasn't cut — yet.
Twenty-three more were sent packing at the end of the Broadway round, and then it was right on to jazz. (Sidenote: American Idol could learn a thing or two from this show about how to keep things moving.) The 82 left were turned over to Sonya, who urged our contestants to fight for their right to stay. Particularly defeated, at this point, was hip hopper Shafeek, who began throwing a tantrum midway through the choreography, walking around in circles and muttering that the routine was stupid. His partner, Danielle Dominguez — better known as bacon girl — couldn’t do anything to help him and instead chose to focus on her love for Sonya and her choreography. Also performing for the judges in this group was Rachel, the crazy burlesque girl from Salt Lake City whose goal in life is to resemble Blake Lively in The Town as closely as possible.
When the group finished, Nigel verbally assaulted Shafeek for showing that he messed up, and unsurprisingly, he was cut for attitudinal reasons. Rachel, however, was cut for being unpolished, but did that annoying begging-for-a-second-chance thing contestants tend to do on Simon Fuller shows. The difference is, on this one, they’re allowed to do it. All of the judges except Nigel and Adam voted to give her a chance to dance for her life.
Then, in a dramatic a twist of fate, Danielle Bacon Girl went back onstage to fill in and dance the female choreography, since more girls had been cut than guys. She was rewarded with a kick to the head, courtesy of her partner. He was understandably cut, and Danielle was evaluated by paramedics, who loaded her into an ambulance and took her away. Dun dun dun. To be continued…
One person I was not excited to see again was the very first contestant we encountered this season: Amelia, the wannabe silent movie star. She was ready to bite into the jazz like it was a “juicy steak.” Fortunately, to save the situation, Cyrus was also in her group.
NEXT: No more drama. As usual, the judges looked displeased watching them, and Amelia was sent on to the dance-for-your-life holding pen while Cyrus was the victim of a fake-out —Sonya told him he was in serious need of some contemporary dance classes before sending him through anyway. Hallelujah!
In the dance for your life special at the day’s end, Rachel promised to stay true to her burlesque style — oh joy — and she wore Tom Cruise’s Risky Business outfit while writhing around to “It’s a Man’s World.” I didn’t know there was anything that could make me dislike that song after what Joshua Ledet did to it, but I was mistaken. Did this girl do anything but strip and unbutton her shirt? Seriously. Apparently, all of the judges agreed with me. She got unanimous no’s for being all sex and no action.
Next up was Amelia, who made Adam cry, and at that moment I knew I would not yet be rid of her. To her credit, though, she was very good. Her balance and her technique were spectacularly on point, even if I still wasn’t a fan of her ridiculous “acting.” Every judge sent her though with rave reviews except Nigel, who was still skeptical that she could dance any routine that wasn’t choreographed by her.
Finally, it was time for the group round. Drama! The groups would pick a piece of music at random from a giant black bin of doom and have all night to work on a routine, and in a much-appreciated twist, they were allowed to pick their own groups of five or six.
First up on Day 3 was a group featuring our friend Danielle, who recovered from her head trauma after eight hours in the hospital. She was a late addition to one benevolent group, which had to start from scratch after spending two hours working together. They called it quits at about 4 a.m., and bright and early the next morning, they performed their routine to “Somebody I Used to Know,” which was disturbingly out of sync. Nigel told them point blank they were terrible. He said they should all be sent home, but of course he wouldn’t do that — and in a surprising twist of fate, he only cut Danielle and some other guy. A kick to the head and that’s how you repay her?
Midway through the day, the High Schoolers — four guys and pink-haired ballerina Audrey — were up, performing a prom-themed routine to a super-slow version of “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” Though our female ballet dancer was clearly the star, her supporting cast was pretty impeccable. Tyce told them they were one of the best groups thus far and Nigel called them genius, particularly Audrey. All of them advanced.
The last group up featured three dancers who had previously made it to the end of Vegas Week — Alexa, of course, plus Dres from Season 8 and Adrian from Season 7. Alexa, in particular, was under pressure after suffering Adam’s verbal assault earlier in the week, and her group’s routine to “Glad You Came” provoked Tyce into making his homicidal-nausea face. Uh oh.
NEXT: Tyce is no longer enamored with beauty.Though Debbie said they were lovely, Tyce took another opportunity to destroy Alexa. He told her the lights were on but nobody was home and that he was no longer enamored with her beauty. Is this tough love or are these judges just a-holes? I hate it when they criticize people for not being loud and aggressive; homegirl can’t change her personality. The judges clapped for her when they finally made her cry — You finally showed emotion!, they cooed — which sent an excellent message to our viewers at home. And then, after all of the drama, the judges put all of them through.
In the second-to-last round of choreography — ballroom time — Jason Gilkison subjected the remaining guinea pigs to the Cha-cha. After jumping through so many hoops, Cyrus finally started doubting himself in this round, and it finally hurt him: Everyone in his group advanced, but he was relegated to dance-for-your-life purgatory.
Next up was a collection of contestants featuring Aubrey, our genius prom dancer from the group rounds. I swear she was wearing a bra and a tutu, but the judges didn’t seem to be bothered by that. They were, however, bothered by her lack of proficiency with the routine, and she was axed. It’s amazing how you can go from such a high high to such a low low on this show.
Alexa was under more pressure than anyone in this round, since this is where she crumbled last year. She finally came alive, prompting catcalls and euphoric cheers from the judges throughout the routine. Jason told her she was one of the best of the day and she was sent through with flying colors. Yay, she said in her internal Daria voice.
At the end of the round, Cyrus was ready to dance for his life. He was in the zone. Nerves were nonexistent, and his LeBron fire came out to play. The untrained street dancer did an excellent job of reminding the judges of what makes him so unique; now that The Exorcist is gone, there’s truly no one else who moves like him. He had his fellow contestants in the audience standing and screaming and pounding the seats in front of them, and yeah, me, too. He got unanimous yeses and didn’t smile once throughout the verdict. Totally LeBron in Game 7.
The remaining 52 dancers had just one more challenge to endure: contemporary with Travis Wall. They had one hour to learn the steps, and after Nigel told them they wouldn’t learn their fates until the end of the day, it was time to really dance for their lives.
We literally got about 30 seconds of footage of the actual dancing (there were no cuts, and therefore no reason to see any talent, obviously), and then it was judgment hour. One-third of the dancers were pushed through, including Amelia (yawn) and Cyrus (yay!). Another collection of contestants had to repeat the choreography so Nigel &amp; Co. could make some final decisions.
NEXT: SYTYCD’s answer to Symone Black.One of the on-the-fence candidates was Mariah Spears, the super-cool krumper from the Salt Lake City auditions. My heart was shattered even further when she was cut. First The Exorcist, now this? Dude.
With those cuts made, it was time for one final round of solos, and it was here that we received our token injury moment, SYTYCD’s answer to Symone Black, also known as the girl who fell off the stage during Hollywood Week on Idol. Contemporary specialist Joshua Alexander attempted to do a back flip and fell flat the floor, and after his spotter (good job, bud) nervously mumbled, “He’s not moving,” we heard someone off-camera yell, “Call a medic!” The closest camera guy thought about it — he reached into his pocket for his phone — then abandoned the idea in the name of getting some quality footage. What would we viewers do without these intrepid photogs?
We were left hanging with regards to his fate as Alexa took the stage in the main auditorium. While she performed a haunting classical-contemporary hybrid routine, Debbie mumbled, “This child could win.”
The last contestant of the night was the Robin Thicke lookalike from Week 1, whose classical choreography and interspersed acrobatics made the judges ooh and ahh like they were watching someone play with a ring of fire without burning himself. Legitimately. It was like we were watching Olympic dancing. Robin Thicke received a well-deserved standing O.
As all of the boys were corralled back onstage at Nigel’s command for one last round of cuts, we said goodbye to was Adrian, our Season 7 vet, who was the very last person cut two years ago. Then, it was time for the girls, and we bid farewell to… no one! All the girls would remain in the running for next week’s final final cuts.
And at the end of Vegas Week, we’re down to 35. Who are you pulling for in next week’s top 20 announcement show? Whose departure devastated you? How eager are you to learn of the unfortunate backflipper’s fate?
[Image Credit: FOX]
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Widening the thematic scope without sacrificing too much of the claustrophobia that made the original 1979 Alien universally spooky Prometheus takes the trophy for this summer's most adult-oriented blockbuster entertainment. The movie will leave your mouth agape for its entire runtime first with its majestic exploration of an alien planet and conjectures on the origins of the human race second with its gross-out body horror that leaves no spilled gut to the imagination. Thin characters feel more like pawns in Scott's sci-fi prequel but stunning visuals shocking turns and grand questions more than make up for the shallow ensemble. "Epic" comes in many forms. Prometheus sports all of them.
Based on their discovery of a series of cave drawings all sharing a similar painted design Elizabeth (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie (Logan Marshall-Green) are recruited by Weyland to head a mission to another planet one they believe holds the answers to the creation of life on Earth. Along for the journey are Vickers (Charlize Theron) the ruthless Weyland proxy Janek (Idris Elba) a blue collar captain a slew of faceless scientists and David (Michael Fassbender) HAL 9000-esque resident android who awakens the crew of spaceship Prometheus when they arrive to their destination. Immediately upon descent there's a discovery: a giant mound that's anything but natural. The crew immediately prepares to scope out the scene zipping up high-tech spacesuits jumping in futuristic humvees and heading out to the site. What they discover are the awe-inspiring creations of another race. What they bring back to the ship is what they realize may kill their own.
The first half of Prometheus could be easily mistaken for Steven Spielberg's Alien a sense of wonder glowing from every frame not too unlike Close Encounters. Scott takes full advantage of his fictional settings and imbues them with a reality that makes them even more tantalizing. He shoots the vistas of space and the alien planet like National Geographic porn and savors the interior moments on board the Prometheus full of hologram maps sleeping pods and do-it-yourself surgery modules with the same attention. Prometheus is beautiful shot in immersive 3D that never dampers Dariusz Wolski's sharp photography. Scott's direction seems less interested in the run-or-die scenario set up in the latter half of the film but the film maintains tension and mood from beginning to end. It all just gets a bit…bloodier.
Jon Spaihts' and Damon Lindelof's script doesn't do the performers any favors shuffling them to and fro between the ship and the alien construction without much room for development. Reveals are shoehorned in without much setup (one involving Theron's Vickers that's shockingly mishandled) but for the most part the ensemble is ready to chomp into the script's bigger picture conceits. Rapace is a physical performer capable of pulling off a grisly scene involving an alien some sharp objects and a painful procedure (sure to be the scene of the blockbuster season. Among the rest of the crew Fassbender's David stands out as the film's revelatory performance delivering a digestible ambiguity to his mechanical man that playfully toys with expectations from his first entrance. The creature effects in Prometheus will wow you but even Fassbender's smallest gesture can send the mind spinning. The power of his smile packs more of a punch than any facehugger.
Much like Lindelof's Lost Prometheus aims to explore the idea of asking questions and seeking answers and on Scott's scale it's a tremendous unexpected ride. A few ideas introduced to spur action fall to the way side in the logic department but with a clear mission and end point Prometheus works as a sweeping sci-fi that doesn't require choppy editing or endless explosions to keep us on the edge of our seats. Prometheus isn't too far off from the Alien xenomorphs: born from existing DNA of another creature the movie breaks out as its own beast. And it's wilder than ever.
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Earlier this month, Nigel Lythgoe teased that we could expect big and exciting format changes to kick off the ninth season of So You Think You Can Dance. Now, we know the biggest change is that there will be a male and a female winner.
If only he'd blessed audiences with the same gift in that other show of his. Maybe then we could've avoided the disastrous outcome of American Idol's 11th season.
Alas, there’s nothing like a new hysteria-inducing reality show to pull us out of our Phillip Phillips-induced abyss (or maybe it’s just me). This year’s SYTYCD intro package reminded us that our hearts, our minds and our text allotments have been dominated by singers for months, and now, it’s time to dance.
This year, however, things will look a bit different from seasons’ past. Here's a rundown of the format changes:
--The show runs once per week and combines solos, duets, group numbers and eliminations
--The judges will be charged with eliminating one male and one female from the bottom three America chose the week prior (and as a result, during the first week of live shows, no one goes home)
--There will be one male and one female winner at season's end
Once I get over my excitement of seeing Jackson’s mom from Grey’s Anatomy in the intro teasers, it’s time to start the evening in New York City, where Cat Deeley battles the elements in the entirety of a Land’s End catalogue and Nigel and Mary Murphy are joined by guest judge du juor Tyce Diorio, an Emmy-winning Broadway choreographer.
First up is Amelia Lowe, an 18-year-old 1920’s flapper wannabe who immediately captivates the judges with her part-Rooney Mara, part-lobotomized mental patient persona. After the judges compare her to a silent movie star, she tells them with a grating, Dorothy from Wizard of Oz affect that she loves the overdramatic-ness and theatricality of silent films. Couldn’t tell. At all.
Tyce loves her before the music even starts, calling her adorable before howling and WOOO!-ing excessively throughout her ballet, which somehow seems alternately spectacular and ungraceful. Or maybe it’s just her “Hello, Earthlings,” dopey smile that’s distracting. In any case, she earns a standing O from all the judges and is pushed straight through to Vegas.
Next, we meet an eccentric Japan-native clad head to toe in red, including his bright red Afro explosion. He tells the cameras he particularly enjoys “popping,” “locking” and tucking his foot behind his head while standing. We get the requisite mocking of his inability to speak English from both Nigel and the producers before he embarks on a truly spectacular combination of hip hop and break-dancing that’s perfectly in sync with his dubstep track. At one point, he folds into a pretzel on the ground and stands, causing all the fellas in the house to simultaneously shudder and vomit.
The judges offer him an opportunity to come back for choreography later, which he accepts after they make fun of him yet again for failing to speak English properly.
Because the producers clearly think we still enjoy them, our first joke audition is next. (Ugh.) Austin Freeman, a flannel-clad hipster nerd, is here to grace us all with the joy of “the wiggle.” And when Nigel asks him what he wants to do with his life, he says he hopes to be a celebrity. Love these contestants.
Freeman is disturbingly unfunny, trembling like a seizure victim to “I’m Sexy and I Know It” for far too long before Nigel mercifully cuts the music and suggests he “do more” next time, by which he clearly means, “Learn how to dance.” You know, before auditioning for a dancing contest. As he departs, no one looks remotely entertained. They can barely muster the energy to clap.
Next: Ladies and gents, we've got a flipper on our hands.
Concluding Day One in NYC is Shafeek Westbrook. He’s a flipper. He’s flipping over everything. Chairs, trees, the Statue of Liberty. Not really. Anyway, someone introduce this kid to Joey Gathright.
Westbrook describes himself as a hybrid dancer who incorporates street, break-dancing and hip hop into his repertoire, and he says his showmanship is his X-factor. After an intro package that heavily favored his hip hop side, he shocks the room and the judging panel with an alluring routine that flows beautifully between classical and street elements. Plus, this guy truly is a physical specimen. His pacing, his control, his strength, his ability to support his entire body on one wrist (!!!) …
The house and broadcast audiences stare at Westbrook’s six-pack while Nigel commends his originality and credits him with keeping the SYTYCD franchise afloat. Congratulations! We can all go home now. After Westbrook gets his ticket to Vegas, he tells the panel his story was meant to mimic his deceased friend’s soul as it escaped from the Twin Towers on 9/11.
We get a very brief look at the Day 1 choreography, and we’re informed that our Japanese friend has excused himself after experiencing the rigors of lifting a female partner, but 10 other faceless wonders make it through.
Day 2 begins with 21-year-old Brooklyn native Leo Reyes, who has had plenty of opportunities to audition for the show but never did. He’s here for his mom, whom he and his sister found after she tried to commit suicide with pills. That was his awakening—he realized he couldn’t lose his mother before she saw him dance on a big stage under the bright lights. This kid is 100 percent in the zone already and the dancing hasn’t even started yet.
He performs a heartwrenching ballet number to Drake’s “Look What You’ve Done” —a spectacular choice of music to juxtapose the delicate routine—which seems to have Nigel near tears. Reyes gets a standing O from the crowd, and once he gets his ticket to Vegas, he begins hyperventilating like the most amazing Fantasia-Josh Ledet hybrid ever. Dude is very likeable. He’s clearly meant to be one of the token sob stories, but he seems refreshingly genuine and somehow un-sappy.
After a brief montage of terrible dancers—including a pair painted head to toe in silver and a hypersexual yet exceedingly unappealing dude in biker shorts who made Tyce “uncomfortable”—we get our final New York City solo, courtesy of a Robin Thicke doppelganger with an undetermined accent who is trained in ballet but “wants to bring his own style” into it, too.
And he’s dancing to “Sail” by AWOLNATION! I love him already. He mashes up his classical training with more modern street elements and gymnastics that, not gonna lie, are 100 percent enhanced by a perfect choice of music. It’s obvious that ballet is where he excels, but his effort to stretch and challenge himself is commendable and makes for a far more entertaining number.
No surprise, here: Tyce says Thicke 2.0 is ridiculous and sick and amazing, and he sails on through to Hollywood Vegas. (Damn you, Idol.)
And that’s a wrap on New York City, homies. Eleven more dancers make it through after choreography, so that totals 38 second-rounders from the Big Apple.
On to the next! We’re in Dallas, y’all. Cat is wearing a very festive ranch-chic poncho to celebrate, and our new guest judge is Lil C.
We begin with super-cute 29-year-old mom of two Bree Hafen, who offers the standard teary sound byte about how she put her dreams on hold for her kids (yawn). Nigel invites the kids down to the judges’ table, and there’s no point in watching the rest of this audition because sending her home in front of her kids would be like decapitating a unicorn.
Her ballet routine is controlled and earnest, but it honestly doesn’t get that good until the end, which Nigel acknowledges after the fact. Alas, he sends one of Bree’s kids onstage with the ticket to Vegas midway through the routine, then asks said child to perform in her amazing pink tutu. Watch out, Sofia Grace and Rosie.
And here, we finally arrive at “The Exorcist” pair Nigel has spent so much of the preseason raving about. Dudes are actually terrifying. Horror films, cartoons and video games have influenced their styles, and they spend much of their intro package rolling their eyes back into their heads and imitating the zombie apocalypse from Season 2 of True Blood.
Stepheon “The Zombie” Stewart is up first, and his street dancing is actually plenty entertaining and rhythmically perfect, even without the zombie, Chucky-face shtick. He even reverse-crab walks down the stairs at the front of the stage, which compels Mary to either howl in fear or laugh; no way to tell. After Stepheon floats into the wings at the end of the number, he reemerges, looking purposely dazed. Standing O from the crowd and automatic ticket to Vegas.
Hampton “The Exorcist” Williams is on next, and he tells the judges he’s ready to interpret their pain and fear and cleanse their souls. Yeah, okay, I internally scoff. But holy moly, I feel like he really did exorcise my demons! That’s how good he was.
The beginning of the routine, choreographed to Evanescence’s “My Immortal,” revolves around to some very controlled and rhythmic twitching, accompanied by a truly haunting countenance. This guy is a real performer; his control and his showmanship are spectacular. He’s “freestyling from the heart,” as Lil C says. This is, by about 87.5 miles, the most scintillating, captivating performance of the night. You cannot tear your eyes away. He ends the routine by mimicking pulling out his heart and throwing it on the floor, then crawling to his death. Exorcism complete.
Early favorite in the hiz-ouse. Hampton receives a very well-deserved standing ovation from all living souls in the room, most of whom are crying. Mary is weeping the way I weep when I watch BB Chez sing with Jennifer Holliday. It’s obvious why Nigel couldn’t stop talking about this kid in the months leading up to the premiere.
Over-under on how many times I watch this on YouTube tonight?
Day Two in Dallas begins with Australian Daniel Baker, who decided he wanted to move to America after his dad gave him a book filled with pictures of U.S. buildings. At the time, he had no dance training, but he determined that the only way to get to this lovely country of ours was to become a ballet dancer so he could get a sponsored visa. Naturally. Why didn’t I think of that? He now dances with the San Francisco ballet.
Next: What's a little SYTYCD without gratuitous shirtlessness?Baker promptly disposes of his shirt once he gets onstage and performs a contemporary ballet routine to something that (I’m embarrassing myself here) sounds like some variation of the Mission Impossible theme. He’s excellent, flawless. Perfect form, perfect timing, perfect mechanics. The ladies in the house chant “Vegas!” when he’s finished, and the judges embark upon their tired, pretend-to-be-nonplussed routine before offering him a ticket to the next round.
After a quick montage of the four best female applicants in Dallas (obviously, they get a 30-second rundown among them), we get another five minutes dedicated to a contestant who works in an autism research center and tells the judges he’s on the spectrum himself. He says he’s never been trained in dance and performs a “lyrical freestyle,” beginning his routine in the Buddha pose and thoroughly enjoying himself by waving his arms like Glimmer fighting the tracker jackers. Nigel gives him his 15 minutes before cutting the music and telling him he won’t be moving on to Vegas or to choreography, but he should never stop dancing.
And then we come to the most highly entertaining portion of the evening, where a disgruntled applicant insists he hates cuts under his fingernails less than he hates this show, and yet he’s auditioning anyway. He repeatedly tells Cat that he detests the show’s gimmicks and its favoritism, then bizarrely says he doesn’t want to be a part of it at all. Yes, this is before his audition. Cat visibly grits her teeth and tries not to suckerpunch him before sending him off to the wolves.
Our friend keeps mouthing off once he gets in front of the judges while every member of the audience repeatedly face-palms and Nigel tries to reason with him. Somewhat surprisingly, when he finally begins a rocky break-dancing routine, he isn’t terrible, but still, there’s no way he’s getting through to the next round. Lil C calls him out for being unfocused, Mary says it wasn’t very entertaining and Nigel tells him he talks a big game and didn’t bring it. Dude stank-faces his way through the entire critique before Nigel goes Supernanny on him and decrees, “You’ve got a bad attitude, young man. … You are the worst person, in attitude, we’ve had on this show!”
He exits awkwardly as a hush falls over the room.
Fortunately, we have Jarell Rochelle to restore the good vibes. He desperately wants to make it big in the dance world before his mother’s degenerative vision disease renders her unable to see him perform. Nigel invites Mom up to the judges table, where she watches Jarell perform a captivating story about the sadness that comes with the passage of time, expertly weaving together his immense skill, technique and emotion. Nigel tells Jarell his smile is engrossing, Lil C says he was thoroughly touched and then Nigel hands the Vegas ticket to Jarell’s mother. Happiness for all.
And that’s a wrap on Week One. What did you think? Were you as impressed with The Exorcist as I was? Who shouldn’t have gotten a ticket to Vegas? And most importantly, did you cry more or less frequently than Mary?
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And then there were two! Only a week shy of the American Idol finale, the audience at CBS Television City was privy to must-see TV when Ryan Seacrest announced that soul singer Joshua Ledet would not be returning to the competition. That’s right, fan girl favorite, Phillip Phillips, and the one the judges saved, Jessica Sanchez, are your Top 2. Stunned?
The audience and Idol staff certainly was. From my seat inside the theater, I can tell you this was the most emotional elimination of the season, bar none. From grown women sobbing in the row behind me to stage manager, Debbie Williams, wiping away her own tears, it’s a wonder that Joshua could even make it through, much less nail, his final performance of “It’s A Man’s World.” With his swan sang, Joshua not only received one last standing ovation from the judges but also seemed to leave an indelible impression on everyone in the room.
After the cameras stopped rolling, Phillip grabbed the mike and proclaimed, “If that’s not singing, I don’t know what is.” And the audience couldn’t have agreed more as they cheered loudly throughout the performance. While receiving hugs from Jessica, Phillip, and the judges, Joshua finally succumbed to the emotion of the night. He was crying as executive producer Nigel Lythgoe patted his back and told him, “Chin up, chin up!”
Backstage, a collected Joshua told me that his tears weren’t about his Idol demise. "I don't think I was upset about [my elimination] because I was super happy for Jessica and Phillip," he said. "I was definitely not upset. I felt relieved. A lot of the pressure was off of me and I feel really good. I'm not going to say I was surprised because Jessica and Phillip are amazing and have huge fan bases and they deserve it. I don't think I would have cried, but when people come up to you and try to comfort you and are hugging you then the tears start coming."
While the audience seemed shocked by Joshua’s elimination, they were equally thrilled to see Phillip and Jessica as the Top 2. As soon as Jessica was sent to safety — and, thus, the finals — the audience erupted in cheers and quickly rose to their feet. And to no one’s surprise, the judge that saved her, J. Lo, excitedly clapped. While Phillip also received a standing ovation, no one was more excited than the teenage girls surrounding me in the theater.
The fandom for Phillip and Jessica (and even Joshua) was clear from the beginning of the night. The audience cheered in agreement when Jimmy Iovine said Jessica belonged at the Grammys. (Randy Jackson and J. Lo also seemed tickled by the comment.) Even Jessica’s fellow contestants were fans as she received a few high fives and hugs from Phillip throughout the night and constantly counted on Joshua for more hugs and hand grabs.
For the second night in row, it was Phillip that sent the audience into hysterics. From screaming, “We Love You, Phillip!” to taking personal offense to his performance critiques (could you hear all the boos on TV?), his teen supporters clearly felt the contestant could do no wrong. In fact, during one commercial, Phillip joined Cory Almeida, the warm-up comic, in throwing out prizes and I spotted two girls literally fighting over a light stick just because he touched it.
It’s unusual for the eliminated contestant to get one of the loudest cheers of the night, but that is exactly what happened when Joshua took the stage to hear his feedback from last night’s performances. As the package played back, Joshua and the judges looked genuinely surprised when Jimmy admitted that he wouldn’t have given him a standing ovation, but the audience screamed like they were hearing Joshua’s songs live.
And let’s not forget the live performances, starting with the Top 3 singing The Beatles hit, “Got To Get You Into My Life.” The trio didn’t even have to sing to get the crowd’s approval — the theater gave them a standing ovation from the first note. But Idol fans are a nostalgic bunch, so there was no greater joy than seeing Season 8 runner-up Adam Lambert return to the show to sing his new song, “Never Close Our Eyes.” During his psychedelic performance, Joshua was swaying to the music as Jennifer and Randy nodded their heads to the song.
While Lisa Marie Presley’s performance of “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” looked impressive, the crowd was less than thrilled. After all, it was pre-taped. The audience went from loud cheers to virtual silence as the playback started. Live or not, the judges still loved it and the crowd did at least politely clap at the end.
It’s likely CBS Television City will be far more enthusiastic next week, when Jessica and Phillip face off in the finals. (Time for me to by earplugs!) Were you shocked that Joshua didn’t make it to the finale? Come back next week for one more week of behind-the-scenes idol intel!
[Image Credit: FOX]
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Thursday night’s American Idol left many fans in the audience wondering if the judges used their save too soon when fan favorite Colton Dixon was eliminated from the competition. Inside the theater, there was no doubt that this — and not last week’s almost-sort-of-not-really-at-all-surprising results — was the most shocking elimination yet.
Unlike past elimination nights, there were no boos for the crowd when Ryan Seacrest announced that Colton would not be returning to Idol next week. Instead, there was a single audible “No,” followed by stunned silence and a few tears (and not just from Colton himself). The mother seated in front of me wiped away her own tears before hugging her young daughter. But Colton’s only silver lining may have been that he finally received that elusive standing ovation when he performed his final number on the show. A small gesture from the judges, but, backstage, Colton told me it was a huge moment for him. “I've been trying too hard to get a standing ovation from the judges that I didn't need,” he said. “During [my final performance], I wasn't singing for them, or my family, anyone in the audience or anyone at home. That song was between me and my Lord Savior Jesus Christ. We had a cool moment onstage for sure."
It wasn’t just the audience that was shocked by Colton’s elimination. Jennifer Lopez could be seen shaking her head in dismay when his name was announced. The other Idol contestants also appeared stunned, then rushed to hug Colton, even trying to make their way to him before he sang. Ryan, however, was the only one able to grab his shoulder before he took the stage.
The contestant most affected by the shocking results? Phillip Phillips, who remained seated for a portion of Colton’s swan song, hanging his head as he listened. Good pal (and rumored paramour) Skylar Laine, however, stayed strong for Colton, singing every word alongside him. Hollie Cavanagh — who many thought should have been sent packing — cried throughout the song. Following his emotional performance, all the contestants come over to (finally) give Colton a hug. And the judges weren’t far behind — Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson embraced the contestant as well. But, it was Jennifer who had the longest conversation with him, hugging him at least three times before leaving the stage. Looks like fans weren’t the only ones who hoped Colton would stick around as long as possible. “Jennifer was a sweetheart. She didn’t want to leave the stage,” Colton explained backstage. “It was so cute. I loved it!”
Beyond the judges and his fellow contestants, it was clear that Colton boasted a second family in American Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, stage manager Debbie Williams, and Ryan — the trio also comforted him after the final credits rolled.
Seems Colton, however, might have seen the elimination coming. Prior to Ryan calling his name, the contestant seemed to be bracing for bad news, nervously turning away from the audience during the final commercial break. Backstage, he admitted that he only had one regret in the competition: His choice to sing Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.” “I regret my first song last night,” Colton revealed. “My take on it was me and I didn’t veer stylistically from me at all. I think I could have chosen a better song that I could connect with that had a better message for me and for my audience. And I think that is what turned a lot of people off last night.”
Of course, there was more action during the evening than Colton’s elimination. In the most expected moment of the episode, Ryan announced that Hollie was the first contestant in the bottom three. (Though Hollie was bound for a bottom three finish, Skylar still looked on, sad expression on her face.) Meanwhile, Joshua, who gave two stellar performances last night, learned he would stay in the competition. Clearly, the judges were pleased — Jennifer could be seen clapping ecstatically while he received hugs from Phillip and Skylar and a fist bump from Colton.
There was no hiding that Skylar and Elise Testone, the next pairing, are friends — the duo chatted while the package about their performances played. While the audience cheered for Skylar, Elise still had trouble hearing the judges’ and Jimmy Iovine’s harsh criticism of her performances. Neither the judges, nor the audience, appeared shocked by Elise’s placement in bottom three, as there were hardly any boos or screams. During the commercial break, Ryan and Hollie made the effort to comfort Elise with hugs and conversation.
The final contestants to find out their fate were Phillip, Colton, and Jessica Sanchez… and we all know how that ended. But regardless of his inevitable safety, Phillip looked a little embarrassed as they played back J. Lo calling him sexy and then laughed as they showed him coyly asking for her number in a backstage interview. Colton, on the other hand, looked less than confident, crossing his arms while watching the feedback from Wednesday night. Lastly, when Jessica was told she was safe, there may not have been anyone more relieved than Jennifer, who appeared nearly giddy.
Let’s not forget the night’s many musical performances, beginning with the Idol Top 7 taking the stage to sing “Dancing in the Street,” a song that had the judges and audience bouncing along to the music. (What did the Idol staff do with all those balloons? During the commercial break, the crew rushed to pop them all with a little help from Ryan and the contestants themselves.) Former American Idol Kris Allen also took the stage to perform his new song, “The Vision of Love.” Finally, LMFAO performed their hit, “Sorry for Party Rocking,” which encouraged Mr. Seacrest himself party rock on the sidelines, dancing with the contestants.
They couldn’t finish this week of American Idol without a video tribute to recently deceased Dick Clark. The icon was so much of an influence for Ryan, the host appeared almost memorized watching the packaged tribute to Clark playing on Idol’s TV screens. But what American Idol action will we see on our TV screens next week? Tune in Wednesday to see — then come back here Thursday for the lowdown of what went on behind the scenes at Idol!
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J. Lo may have loved him (as she made sure to tell the voting public over and over... and over), but American Idol fans said goodbye to DeAndre Brackensick last night. (Read our recap here!) Not that Jennifer Lopez was happy about his ouster — inside the theater at CBS Television City, where reporters and fans like myself watched the action go down last night, it appeared that the 17-year-old Brackensick could be this season’s only save by the judges after his last-chance performance of Stevie Wonder’s “Master Blaster” had everyone in the room moving, especially the glowing judge herself.
Clearly, it wasn’t enough. A shocked crowd booed and screamed as Lopez told the young contestant he would be sent packing, regardless of the fact that she had tried to save him. Clearly, Jimmy Iovine’s pre-taped segment calling Brackensick the weakest male contestant left in the competition wasn’t a tip-off to the enthusiastic, sign-holding superfans at CBS Television City. But I’ll touch on that later in this piece (and let you know what Brackensick said backstage about Lopez’s failed attempt). First, let’s start at the beginning of the night — THIS. Is what it’s like inside the theater at American Idol.
Prior to the upsetting elimination, the taping felt like a dance party — and it was quite a rager, thanks to the sheer number of people attending the show. In fact, before the cameras rolled, everyone (including season 3’s Matt Rogers, who was in the crowd) was grooving to LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem.” Of course, they had the chance to dance to a different tune later in the show — that scandalous new video for Jennifer Lopez’s “Dance Again.” (Hey J. Lo — there are kids in this audience!)
As you all saw, while introducing Lopez’s new music video, Ryan Seacrest teased Jennifer about the appearance of a certain special someone in the video – her dancer boyfriend Casper Smart. While you all were watching the video, Seacrest proved there were no hard feelings teasing Lopez — he lightly grabbed her shoulders while they shared a quick laugh. And it seemed Lopez herself even recognized the ridiculousness of the image of her writhing in a pile of shirtless men — the judge covered her eyes at a particularly racy moment during the video.
During the commercial, the in-studio audience quickly learned Smart didn’t only appear in the video, he was also by Lopez’s side at the Idol taping as well. After he was introduced to the audience, Lopez rushed to give him a hug and gently rubbed his chest before he raced back to his seat. But this wasn’t the only time he visited the judges’ table — during several commercial breaks, Smart chatted up the judge.
But for all the highs, there were some lows during the night: One was when Seacrest announced that Joshua Ledet was feeling ill. From the audience, you could tell something was wrong even as Ledet hit the stage before the show. As the contestants took their places and the audience cheered, Ledet appeared to walk slower than the other contestants, while producers took the time to check on him. But no one seemed more concerned than Seacrest himself, who could be seen talking with Ledet several times off-camera. (And before you cry favoritism, Seacrest also took a moment to say hello to all the other contestants off-camera as well.)
Ledet’s health kept him from participating in all of Idol’s activities — in fact, he was MIA during Kellie Pickler’s performance, but seamlessly rejoined his fellow contestants whenever the cameras were rolling. (Oh, the skill of Idol stage manager Debbie Williams!) Speaking of Pickler, she is clearly part of the American Idol family. Producer Nigel Lythgoe excitedly greeted her along with Randy. The two even brought her over to Lopez to continue their conversation during a commercial break.
But let’s bring things back to those we really do care about: The contestants. Coming off a successful Wednesday night that included a duet, rumored couple Colton Dixon and Skylar Laine appeared happy to share the stage again, even if was on elimination night. In a sweet off-camera moment, Dixon bowed down to Laine after her unbelievable performance of “The Wind Beneath My Wings” was shown. But, when it came to the audience, the loudest cheers of the night were dedicated to Jessica Sanchez — the crowd screamed when her performance of “How Will I Know” was played back.
Before Brackensick’s last-ditch effort to remain in the competition, the audience seemed all but convinced that Hollie Cavanagh would be bidding farewell last night after being panned by the judges again this week for her performance of “What A Feeling.” But after Cavanagh was sent to safety and Brackensick sent packing, the well-coiffed eliminated contestant told reporters backstage that he was satisfied with his performance, regardless of Iovine’s less-than-flattering comments. “I think it was one of my best performances this week,” he said, “I’m glad that I did get cut on a great performance, not on something bad.”
And what about Lopez’s attempted save? Brackensick — who was composed backstage, regardless of being a self-professed “a cry baby” — said he remained grateful for Lopez's support. “Jennifer is nurturing,” he explained, “That’s what I love about the judges. What you get on stage is what you get behind the scenes.”
Of course, we might not see him next week, but Brackensick has bigger plans on his plate post-Idol: Prom. "I'm just glad that I finally get to go to a prom that I'm going to actually enjoy," he said. “Idol brought [me out] … Every dance I've ever had, I was either a ticket-taker or a coat-taker because I was just so uncomfortable with myself.” Clearly, he no longer has that problem — even Brackensick’s hair dances!
So goodbye, DeAndre, and goodbye readers — until next week, when I’ll take you behind the scenes of Idol’s must-see tapings once again. Wenger, out!
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